Sue Palmer

Sue Palmer (Born 1948 in Manchester, England) is a former primary headteacher in the Scottish Borders and is an independent writer and consultant on primary education, particularly literacy.

Career

She has written over 200 books, TV programmes, and software packages for children and teachers. As an independent consultant, she has worked with the DfES, National Literacy Trust, Basic Skills Agency, numerous educational publishers, and the BBC. In 2004, she collaborated with Early Years specialist Ros Bayley to produce Foundations of Literacy, now in its third edition.

Palmer's book Toxic Childhood: how modern life is damaging our children… and what we can do about it [Orion 2006] was her first for a more general audience. It was followed by a ‘self-help’ book for parents, Detoxing Childhood, and 21st Century Boys: how modern life can drive them off the rails, and how we can get them back on track, for publication in 2009.

Since researching Toxic Childhood, she has become involved in many campaigns relating to children’s well-being and mental health. She was named among the top twenty most influential people in British education in the Evening Standard’s 2008 Influentials list.